Local Play and Ad Hoc Mode are next

It only took 24 hours for Mozilla's Matchstick HDMI dongle to reach its targeted $100,000 funding goal on Kickstarter, and since then, the project has skyrocketed to more than $390,000 with 9 days still to go. However, this is where things interesting, as they often do on these crowdfunded sites. If Matchstick hits $500,000 in pledges, the developers will implement two frequently requested stretch goals -- Local Play and Ad Hoc mode.

Chromecast competitor aims to be more open

Google is pitching its Chromecast device for streaming chores, Microsoft recently unveiled its Wireless Display Adapter based on Miracast technology, and now Mozilla is jumping into the fray with Matchstick, the first HDMI stick based on Firefox OS. Currently up for pledges on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, Matchstick's makers hope to find an advantage over the competition by offering up a completely open hardware and software platform.

Prototype already in hands of a select group of developers

Google’s nearly year-old Chromecast dongle is about to get some fresh competition. Mozilla is gearing up to take on the $35 Chromecast with a Firefox OS-powered media streaming stick. The company’s plans came to light a few days back when a Mozilla evangelist shared a photo of a “fully open TV casting prototype device running Firefox OS” via Twitter.